Judges Degrees
1ST DEGREE -Aura of Seriousness = Judge exudes an aura of seriousness and makes others sit up straight and pay attention. -Crack Shot = Historically, being a Judge is neither safe nor easy, which is probably why Judges start out with high levels of accuracy in basic ranged weapons like rifles, crossbows, etc. -Aggravated = Damage inflicted by the long range weapons of a Judge deals aggravated damage. 2ND DEGREE -Incarcerate = Judge can trap a target in a temporary, shimmering prison of supernatural energies. -True Grit = Judge can fire both hands at two separate targets and suffer no loss in focus. 3RD DEGREE -Smite = Judge can smite an opponent with a bout of supernatural flames. 4TH DEGREE -Sense the Sin = Judge can 'scan' a person's figure for signs of basic wrongdoing, for instance violence will take the form of blood splatter on the face, murder will look like blood on the hands, lying will appear as blackened lips, etc. 5TH DEGREE -Coming Judgement = Judge can cause someone to experience supernatural affliction as a result of serious sin. The target will suffer a serious of great misfortunes over the next few days, unless they genuinely repent. 6TH DEGREE -Peer into the Soul = Judge can look into someone's eyes and gain a vision of what is going inside of them. This power is relative but usually a Judge is shown what is driving the person, what they fear, what things are dominating their life right now, etc. 7TH DEGREE -Pardon = At this stage, the Judge has developed far enough that God Himself loans to the Judge the power to forgive sins. An Adept suffering Accedia can be healed by the power of a Judge! -Swear An Oath = By swearing to tell the truth in the presence of a Judge, a target cannot tell a lie for the duration of a scene without the Judge sensing it. Traditionally, Judges demand that persons swear on a Bible. It should be noted that, if a person does lie, the Judge does not know what was lied about exactly - only that some information given was either falsified or 'less than accurate.' Also, lying by omission doesn't count, so a skilled and creative person can fashion a total lie that will still pass just by making sure not to make any statements that aren't 'technically' true. 8TH DEGREE -Wisdom Speaker = Judge gains powerful skills in logic and rhetoric and can easily present the toughest subjects in the most simple manner to any audience. 9TH DEGREE -Summon Avenger = Judge can summon an Avenger to fight beside him. The Avenger won't technically be under the Judge's control, but he will be highly favorable to the Judge. -Greater Incarcerate = Judge can trap a target in a powerful cage of invisible, supernatural energies. 10TH DEGREE -Child of Wisdom = Judge can ask a simple question and receive a basic answer that will somehow help him. 11TH DEGREE -Maximum Security = Upgrade to Greater Incarcerate, a Judge can now incarcerate multiple opponents at once. The targets must be grouped together for this to work. 12TH DEGREE -Sin Eater = A Judge can absorb into himself the sins of another. This power is only used when a Judge fears someone who may be coming to the light might die before making a full conversion. Judges who 'eat' the sins simply Pardon themselves shortly afterwards. 13TH DEGREE -Greater Summon Avenger = Judge can summon multiple Avengers to fight beside him. 14TH DEGREE -Hangin' Judge = Judge can cause one or multiple targets to be strung up on ephemeral ropes by the neck. The Judge must actively work to maintain this feat. If prolonged, targets will suffocate to death. However, because Judges don't believe in punishment without trial, they never use this ability except to weaken or incapacitate foes. 15TH DEGREE -Day of Judgement = Judge can shock singles or groups of opponents with powerful and realistic visions of what the coming Day of Judgement might look like. Targets can be deeply afflicted by this power of a Judge and may even be rendered catatonic for awhile. 16TH DEGREE -Justice Is Coming = Stories of supernatural horsemen who seek vengeance or justice are found around the world, and are likely the result of Judges enacting this power. The Judge can summon to himself a powerful steed that is either pure black with flaming eyes and mane, or the horse's fur is ablaze with supernatural fire (only damages enemies). In both cases the horse's hooves are like burning coals and make a distinct hiss/click sound when running along the ground. While riding the steed, the Judge is harder to hit (projectiles seem to veer off course magically) and supernatural attacks like spells are dampened to some extent. In times past, Judges would often don masks or cover their faces with white cloth in order to present themselves as the terrible avengers of justice.